The Original Adventures of Desiderata

Welcome to the McConnell Family Web site!

First, let us introduce ourselves.  Our crew consists of six of us.  Mike, the captain, Nancy, firstmate, Fletcher (9 years old), deck hand, Dana (8 years old) deckhand and chief napper, Hopper (an 8 year old red Queensland Heeler) keen dolphin and ship spotter, and Sia (a 10 year old Siamese Tabby mix), another great napper.  Our vessel is a 41 foot Islander Freeport.  

ORIGINAL PLAN (Nov 03):  We are just beginning an open ended sailing journey and possibly a circumnavigation.  Our initial plan is to stay in Mexico for one year, possibly two.  After Mexico, we will sail down the coast of Central America before visiting the Galapagos on our way to the South Pacific.  Our first stop there will be Pitcairn Island to visit the home of Fletcher's namesake.  After that we shall see.

CURRENT PLAN (June 04):  Now that we are several months into our journey, we are thinking along different lines, and our plans may be changing.  That is one of the great things about this lifestyle.  As of mid '04, we are now planning to spend next year on the Pacific coast of Central America before going through the Panama Canal.  The following year we will spend exploring the Caribbean side of Central America before crossing the Caribbean.  We will then spend one or two seasons going up and down the east coast of the United States in the summer and into the Caribbean islands in the winters.  Possibly after that we will cross over to the Mediterranean for a year of European exploration and education.  Eventually we do want to cruise the South Pacific, but it will probably be a few years and maybe even on a different boat.  But, who knows what the future may bring?! 

Latest Update (as of 6-30-05) Please see the months full page for details and photos.  Note:  we will try to update our website once a month, so keep checking! June found life returning to a bit more normal pace.  Not quite as much excitement as normal for us.  We finished up the school year right on time and the kids did very well as far as grades go.  The kids were in a play for a cruisers talent night.  Our fridge broke and was down for most of the month.  We did spring cleaning on the boat, especially in the kids area, it is amazing how much stuff can accumulate on one small boat!  The kids had their first pet sitting job.  The kids began "summer school" at the local island school to work on their Spanish.  Nancy went back California to take care of paperwork and to pick up the kids school for the coming year. Update (as of 5-31-05) Please see the months full page for details and photos.  Note:  we will try to update our website once a month, so keep checking!   May was full, full, full!  We had a Guatemalan fiesta at Lake Atitlan for Dana's birthday, completed our trip to Guatemala, returned to El Salvador and lots of stormy weather.  We participated in some local celebrations like a wedding and mothers day.  A hurricane threatened to pass right over us and we had visitors from the states.  We are working hard to get the school year finished up and we try to go for a beach walk or pool swim everyday.  Nancy will soon begin preparations for her trip up to the states.